


Condolences

by rankyaku



Series: One Piece Reader Inserts [1]
Category: One Piece
Genre: F/M, Pre-Time Skip, edge lord mihawk is a good guy actually, mihawk is very sweet in his own way
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-11-12
Updated: 2019-11-12
Packaged: 2021-01-29 05:15:20
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,640
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21404785
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/rankyaku/pseuds/rankyaku
Summary: "Spare me your pity. I don't need it.""You seem to confuse pity with love."
Relationships: Dracule Mihawk/Reader
Series: One Piece Reader Inserts [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1543588
Comments: 2
Kudos: 118





	Condolences

**Author's Note:**

> mihawk may seem kind of ooc in this?? idk i like to think of mihawk as someone who, while super reserved and composed, isnt afraid to make weird dumb jokes around those he likes/is close with. this is just my take on mihawk, who i honestly think is a super hard character to write for. :)

You frowned, watching Zoro and Perona bicker for the fifth time that day. You never did understand how exactly Mihawk put up with it. Having arrived at his manor months after the younger two did, you were thrown into the midst of their mutual dislike almost instantly.

It wasn’t as though you had wanted to land on Kuraigana Island, but an especially horrible storm had wrecked your ship and left you stranded from your crew. And so, with no crew, no ship and certainly no navigation experience, you were stuck.

It wasn’t all that bad, however. While Zoro and Perona had been annoying at first, you simply learned to tune them out most times. But when they were in the same room as you, Perona diligently trying to bandage a banged up Zoro after his last training session with Mihawk — you swore that man never went easy on him — it was difficult to just ignore them and focus on your book. The only thing that ever seemed to get them to quiet down was when Mihawk entered the room. Speak of the devil and he shall appear.

You could hear the clicking of his heels on the stone flooring echo down the halls, thankful for his appearance. You might finally be able to finish your book. Mihawk entered the main room, a book in one hand, a wine bottle and accompanying glass in the other. Without saying a word, he took a seat across from you, and poured himself a glass. You heard Perona mutter something about him being an alcoholic under her breath to Zoro, who suppressed a snort of laughter.

Mihawk’s presence always seemed to irk Perona, so as soon as she had finished wrapping Zoro up in a copious number of bandages, she fled the room. Zoro left soon after, restless you assumed, as he grabbed his swords and headed for the door. That left only you and the older man, sitting in a comfortable silence. 

It only took a few minutes before Mihawk had something to say to you. He cleared his throat and you could feel his stare narrow in on you. You acted like you weren’t bothered by the feeling of his oddly coloured eyes on you, and casually slipped your bookmark into the book, closing it firmly. To stall for more time, you took a sip from your water before raising your eyes to meet his.

“Is there something I can help you with, Mihawk?” You spoke quietly, offering him a small smile. It wasn’t to say you didn’t enjoy speaking to him, it was just that he sometimes made the conversation awkward. He had a very strange sense of humour, often making dark jokes that you weren’t sure could even be consider jokes. Especially with how monotone he tended to deliver them.

“I heard some information about that crew you were apart of. The ship was found but there no one on board. Seems most of the crew met their end, or perhaps ended up stranded like you.” He spoke calmly, eyes shifting from yours down to the pages of his book. He flipped the page casually, as if he hadn’t just delivered heartbreaking news to you.

It wasn’t as if you came from a tight-knit pirate crew. You had only worked on a merchant ship, delivering supplies and other goods to different islands across the grand line. But that didn’t mean you hadn’t made some close friends on the ship. It was horrifying to think that all those people you had met and grown close to were now gone and you would never see them again.

You felt sharp tears prick your eyes as you thought about your friends and everyone else on the ship, as well as all the things you had lost. Instead of breaking down in front of Mihawk, you chose to excuse yourself, quickly exiting the room. You ran off to the library, curling up in one of the chairs in a darkened corner, where you knew Perona wouldn't bother you. Zoro, you didn’t really have to worry about, you weren't sure he even knew there was a library let alone how to get to it. 

You let yourself weep for a short while, feeling it was better to let everything flow out of you instead of bottling it up in an attempt to be strong. You didn’t think you were strong. At least not in this moment. 

At the familiar sound of heeled boots clicking on the stone flooring, your sobs stopped. You sat frozen in the chair, staring at the bookshelves ahead of you. You weren’t sure if you were imagining things or not, but you really hoped you were. The last person you wanted to witness you cry was Mihawk. You would have been more comfortable crying in front of Perona or even Zoro, who you knew even less than Mihawk. Maybe if you were lucky Perona would walk around the corner.

You were not lucky, however.

Silent, Mihawk strode around the corner as if he was meant to be there. He took a seat across from you again, opening up his book and quietly reading. You stared at him, confused. Did he just want to hear you cry? Maybe he wanted to be there to watch you breakdown so he could use it as some sort of sick blackmail later. Although that did seem like something Perona would do, not Mihawk, you still couldn’t stop yourself from thinking that he was secretly up to something.

“Is there something you need, Mihawk? Did you come to just listen to me cry?” You muttered weakly, brushing a stray tear from your cheek. You adjusted yourself in the chair, tucking your knees closer to your chest, resting your forehead on them.

“I figured you might want some company. It must be hard to receive such news so suddenly. I wouldn’t want you doing anything rash.” He replied nonchalantly, turning the page to his book. He didn’t even spare you a glace as he continued to read. You glared at him discretely, worried that if he saw the deadly look you were giving him, he would throw you out. Although he could probably sense it.

“Spare me your pity, Mihawk. I don’t need it.” You seethed through grit teeth, turning your eyes away from his figure. He paused mid page turn, and you felt his unsettling, yellow eyes on you again. He didn’t speak, he simply watched you for a while before humming lowly. His eyes moved away from your figure and you heard the page turn a few more times before he spoke again.

“You seem to confuse pity with love, [y/n].”

At his words you froze, head slowly raising from your knees as you stared at him. Your eyes widened as you processed his words, and almost jumped from your chair as they sunk in. Mihawk said nothing, flipping page after page as if what he said was common knowledge and wasn’t something you don’t just randomly say to someone.

“I beg your pardon?” Was the meek response you came up with, shifting back in the chair, arms crossed over your chest defensively. The tall man sat across from you only hummed again, picking up his bookmark and marking his page. He placed it next to him on the armrest, before crossing his own arms, mimicking your position.

“I don’t believe I need to repeat myself. I’m sure you heard what I said.”

“I heard what you said, sure, but I certainly don’t know if I believe it.” You replied coldly, eyes narrowing. This seemed exactly like the kind of joke he would play. Saying something so obviously fake in such a serious, collected tone. It bothered you, to say the least. You were obviously upset and grieving but he chose to joke around with you.

“Believe what you will. I came here on my own free will to offer you some solace, because I _care_.” He spoke coolly, neither hint of sarcasm in his voice, nor ill intent in his brightly coloured eyes. It was then that you came to the realization that he was not, in fact, joking with you. It only took a second for all your heartbeat to soar. It all felt surreal.

You had never taken Dracule Mihawk to be the kind of person to be so forward with how he felt, especially when it came to caring about people. It was why you chose to keep how you truly felt about him suppressed, in fear that things would be made awkward had you not. What surprised you more was how easily someone as reserved and composed as he was threw out the word _love_. He had seemed like the type that it would take years to get that sort of confession out of. But here he was, telling you he cared about you in such a natural tone, as if you both had been lovers.

“I, um,” you stuttered, trying to find your words. “I’m not sure what to say.”

“You don’t need to say anything. I will take your loss for words, and your increased pulse, as you returning my rather rash confession.” He returned, smiling — actually smiling — at you. It was shocking, to say the least. Before you had the chance to reply, he rose to his feet, offering his hand to you.

“Come. Let’s take a walk outside to calm you down, my dear.”

You heart soared once again at his use of such a cheesy pet name, but you let your hand slip into his rough and worn palm. You smiled brightly at him, already feeling somewhat better, now that you knew you wouldn’t have to suffer this alone. Nor would you ever have to be alone, not while Dracule Mihawk was around.

_ “Let’s.”_


End file.
